Grand Theft Uber

Grand Theft Uber
Number	2309
Broadcast Date	AUGUST 27, 2014
Episode Length	28:43
Hosts	Tom Merritt
Guests	Dan Patterson, Timothy B. Lee

Dan Patterson is on the show and we’ll talk about super fast subs, banning after work email, and Timothy B. Lee will join in to talk about this whole Uber-Lyft fight.

Guest

• Dan Patterson
  • danpatterson.com
• Timothy B. Lee
  • Vox

Headlines

• Apple plans to unveil a wearable device along with two iPhone at a yet-to-be-officially-announced September 9th event

ReCode reports Apple plans to unveil a wearable device along with two iPhone at a yet-to-be-officially-announced September 9th event. The wearable will supposedly make us of HomeKit and HealthKit as one might expect. A rumored October event was rumored to announce a wearable but is still rumored to still be on.

• Dropbox increased my storage to 1 TB today

As CNET reports Dropbox Pro users now have one tier that doublse the previous top tier of 500 GB and it costs $10 a month the previous price of the lowest tier of 100 GB. Dropbox also is rolling out the ability to password-protect shared links, share in edit or view only mode as well as add expiration dates. Finally users can remotely wipe folders on lost or stolen devices.

• Microsoft will begin selling the Kinect sensor as a standalone product on October 7th

The Verge reports that Microsoft will begin selling the Kinect sensor as a standalone product on October 7th. The Kinect will sell for $149 dollars and come with a copy of Dance Central Spotlight. Back in May, Microsoft began selling the Xbox One without the Kinect for a reduced price of $399. Kinect for Windows is still expected later this year.

• Google will launch its first campus in Asia with a startup-focused location in Seoul

The Next Web reports Google will launch its first campus in Asia with a startup-focused location in Seoul. Google’s startup program currently has locations in London and Tel Aviv as well. Google hopes to launch the campus sometime next year.

• Twitter has opened up its Tweet activity dashboard to English, French, Japanese and Spanish users who have had an account for at least 14 days

The Next Web reports Twitter has opened up its Tweet activity dashboard to English, French, Japanese and Spanish users who have had an account for at least 14 days. Everybody else should get it soon. This is the dashboard previously only available to advertisers. Head to analytics.twitter.com if you have a few hours to get lost stats nerds.

• Germany’s Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is exploring the idea of passing a law to ban after hours work and email calls

Gigaom reports that Germany’s Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is exploring the idea of passing a law to ban after hours work and email calls. German firms such as BMW, Volkswagen and Deutsche Telecom have banned after-hours work communication on their own already. The labor minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, called for such a law earlier this month to combat burnout.

News From You

• Google’s domain registration service which is currently invite only

Te GeekWire story on Google’s domain registration service which is currently invite only. Google offers free WHOIS privacy protection, and up to 100 free email forwarding addresses for $12. Domains can be configured as usual though there is built-in integration with Wix, Shopify and Squarespace. The downside is Google doesn’t support all domain names, like dot-TV, yet.

Submitted by KAPT_Kipper

• Select customers are getting the drives now with wider availability next quarter

Select customers are getting the drives now with wider availability next quarter.

Submitted by davidpolanco

• Hewlett-Packard is recalling nearly six million power cords because they can overheat, creating a fire and burn hazard

The Consumerist report that Hewlett-Packard is recalling nearly six million power cords because they can overheat, creating a fire and burn hazard. HP received 29 reports of melting cords, including two that included claims of minor burns. The LS-15 AC cords were distributed with HP and Compaq notebook and mini-notebook computers and with accessories such as docking stations. The cords were sold in the US and Canada from September 2010 to June 2012 at electronics stores and hp.com We’ll have a link to the instructions on what to do in the show notes, but instruction number one is unplug that cord!

Submitted by KAPT_Kipper

• Researchers at Harbin Institute of Technology’s Complex Flow and Heat Lab have developed a way that could allow submarines to travel from Shanghai to San Francisco, 9,873 km, in as few as 100 minutes

Engadget story that researchers at Harbin Institute of Technology’s Complex Flow and Heat Lab have developed a way that could allow submarines to travel from Shanghai to San Francisco, 9,873 km, in as few as 100 minutes. Using a sort of a airbubble that takes advantage of supercavitation and reduces drag, vehicles COULD reach the speed of sound underwater about 5800 km/h. They just need to crack launching, steering and powering it and BOOM Superfast Submarines.

Submitted by MacBytes

Discussion

• This is Uber's playbook for sabotaging Lyft
• Casey Newton on Twitter: I just installed Lyft on my phone
• Those canceled Lyft rides were all part of Uber’s elaborate master plan to recruit drivers
• Here's How Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Is Defending His Tactics To Crush Lyft
• The Uber recruitment scandal isn't scandalous
• Uber's dirty tricks quantified: Rival counts 5,560 canceled rides
• Uber Strikes Back, Claiming Lyft Drivers And Employees Canceled Nearly 13,000 Rides

Pick of the Day

• Slice.com

After hearing a while back about Luke Pohr’s pick Package Buddy I wanted to add my pick for tracking purchases, SLICE.COM. Slice builds on Package Buddy by automating tracking and putting all your purchase and tracking info in one app. It scrapes your email to give you a purchase history and can give you notifications for items shipping, out for delivery, and delivered. Slice also helps you track all your online purchasing habits. Once I signed up it gave me my entire online purchasing history since I first began ordering online, 8 years worth!

Submitted by Scott Odle

Links

• This episode on dailytechnewsshow.com
• Support DTNS on Patreon
• DTNS subreddit

Preceded by: "Discourse Remorse"

Grand Theft Uber

Followed by: "Have you rebooted the plane?"